Almost Is Never Enough
by Sonia Raziella
Summary: "You know, Edward, you could've just stayed with her." Bella couldn't look at him; she knew that the second she caught sight of those green eyes again, she'd burst into tears right on the spot. "Tanya, I mean. You didn't have to lie to me. You didn't have to give me this… this false hope that 'we' could actually work."
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Just… listen to the song first. The **_**whole**_** song. Search "Almost Is Never Enough Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes" on YouTube if you haven't heard it recently. And then read this.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

**"Almost Is Never Enough" is by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes and does not belong to me.**

* * *

**-:xoxo:-**

**Almost Is Never Enough**

**-:xoxo:-**

* * *

_I'd like to say we gave it a try_

_I'd like to blame it all on life_

"It's over, Edward!" Bella shouted behind her. "Leave me alone!"

"Bella, please―"

"Stop following me!" She ran up the final flight of stairs before reaching her floor, too impatient to wait for the elevator. She could hear Edward's footsteps behind her.

Finally reaching her apartment, Bella hurriedly unlocked and shoved the door open, grateful that she got it open the first time, and immediately slammed it behind her. There was a loud bang against the door.

"Bella, I told you, _nothing_ happened―"

"Save it for someone who cares, Edward!"

_Maybe we just weren't right_

_But that's a lie_

_That's a lie_

"Bella…" Edward groaned as he pounded his fist against the door again. She was being completely irrational… and he was going to _kill_ Tanya. "It was a lie, Bella. None of that ever happened. It's Tanya, for god's sake!"

He paused, listening for some kind of reaction.

His heart broke when he heard a muffled sob against the door.

"Bella, please, just open the door. I can explain―"

Edward cut himself off when he heard the sound of a door somewhere else in the apartment. It was obvious Bella wasn't listening anymore. He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair.

_And we can deny it as much as we want_

_But in time, our feelings will show_

Bella ignored the tears that were streaming down her cheeks and blurring her vision. She didn't need that many things, anyway―she'd just buy more when she got back to New York.

_I might even let Alice take me shopping_, she thought. She threw a few more shirts into the duffel bag before grabbing her purse from the dressing table where she'd thrown it. She reached for the apartment keys, too, but backed away when she realized that she wouldn't need them anymore.

She quickly walked out of what used to be her room, not wanting to change her mind, and stopped for a few moments in front of Edward's room.

Bella remembered when he had asked her if they could just sleep in the same room… it had only been a month after she'd moved in with him. He had been so nervous, pacing around the living room for fifteen minutes before she had told him to just spit it out.

She quickly snapped out of it when she felt her face breaking into a small smile at the memory. Shaking her head, she started toward the door.

'_Cause sooner or later_

_We'll wonder why we gave up_

_The truth is, everyone knows_

Bella was startled to see that Edward was still outside the door. His head shot up when she came out, eyes immediately becoming confused when he saw the duffel bag in her hand.

"Where are you going?" he asked slowly, forgetting that he was supposed to take this chance to explain what _really_ happened.

Bella sniffled, fresh tears sliding down her face as she stared at Edward, before wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Her eyes, red from crying, were emotionless as she spoke. "I'm going home."

Edward paled at those three words. He was unable to think for a few seconds, and Bella took that as her chance to start walking away.

_Almost, almost is never enough_

_So close to being in love_

_If I would have know that you wanted me_

_The way I wanted you_

"Bella, wait!" Edward called out as he came back to his senses. He sprinted to catch up with her. "You can't leave! It's the middle of the afternoon―O'Hare will be packed!"

She ignored him, keeping up her fast pace until they left the apartment building. She stopped on the sidewalk of the busy road, looking for a taxi.

"Just one minute, Bella, I can explain everyth―"

"You know, Edward, you could've just stayed with her." Bella couldn't look at him; she knew that the second she caught sight of those green eyes again, she'd burst into tears right on the spot. Memories of what Tanya had said flashed through her mind, and she forced herself to block out the mental images. "Tanya, I mean. You didn't have to lie to me. You didn't have to give me this… this false hope that 'we' could actually work."

Edward stared at her in disbelief, not even noticing the taxi that had pulled to a stop in front of them. "You can't possibly believe that. How can you possibly believe that everything between us was a lie? That our _love_ was a lie?!"

Bella froze, her hand on the door handle of the cab. The driver, a young-looking man, was looking between Bella and Edward, seeming to understand the situation, and fortunately kept quiet.

"I just… I can't stay here when you still like her, Edward."

"That's the thing!" Edward shouted, barely trying to keep his voice in check. It's not like the people of Chicago cared, anyway. "I _don't_ like her! She lied, Bella, because she _wants_ you to leave! _Please_, just let me ex―"

"Good-bye, Edward," Bella muttered quietly, refusing to look at him even one last time. She quickly got in the cab and Edward watched, helpless, as the light turned green.

Less than ten seconds later, the cab had disappeared from view.

And in the next half second, after his body had already started moving toward the parking lot, he had made up his mind: he had to stop her. He had to get to the airport.

Now.

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**This is just something I needed to get out… I've been so attached to this song it was driving me insane. I just **_**had**_** to write **_**something**_** about it… It'll be short, so it won't really interfere with any of my other stories.**

**Leave a review, my friends. They help.**

**Sonia**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

"**Almost Is Never Enough" is by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes and does not belong to me.**

* * *

**-:xoxo:-**

**Almost Is Never Enough**

**-:xoxo:-**

* * *

Staring out the window at the cars rushing past had become a distraction for Bella. Eventually, though, her mind drifted off, and she was so completely focused on keeping her mind off of Edward that she didn't notice when the taxi driver pulled to a stop in front of the terminal.

"Miss?"

Bella jumped a little in her seat, startled, before offering the driver a small smile. He had put up with her lack of attention and quiet sobbing for the past half an hour.

Realizing that they were at the airport, she quickly opened up her purse, knowing what he was going to ask.

"How much would that be?" Her voice was hoarse from the yelling and crying she had done earlier. The driver didn't know what to say; he was relatively new to the job, and he had never had to deal with this kind of situation.

"Thirty seven forty-five, miss," he said awkwardly. Bella quickly counted out the money before getting out of the cab, her duffel bag in tow.

The driver watched as Bella walked away. She hesitated when she got to the doors, but heading inside.

He didn't know who this girl was, or what had happened with her and the boy earlier. But he did know that they would meet again… it was a strange feeling he got sometimes where he just knew something would happen. He had wanted to say something comforting, but he had kept quiet, not wanting to get involved.

The driver was snapped out of his thoughts when his phone rang in his pocket. As he drove away from the terminal, he glanced at the caller ID and smiled before answering the phone.

"Don't worry, Charlotte, I'm on my way home…"

_Then maybe we wouldn't be two worlds apart_

_But right here, in each other's arms_

Edward tried hard to stay within 10 mph of the speed limit. Half of him wanted to floor it and get to the airport as fast as possible, but the logical, more rational half of him knew that if a police officer pulled him over for speeding, it would take much longer.

He had tried to call Bella quite a few times already, but she never picked up. He was deciding whether or not to call her again when his phone started to vibrate in the cup holder. Too busy to check who was calling, he quickly hit accept.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Edward!"

Edward froze, remembering at the last second that he was driving and had to focus on the road.

"Tanya?" he said in disbelief. _She has the nerve to call me after what she did?!_

"Who else?" Tanya asked arrogantly. Edward resisted the urge to just hang up. "So do you want to hang out sometime? Dinner tonight, maybe?"

"What did you say to her, Tanya?" He asked stiffly. His knuckles were turning white from clutching the steering wheel so tightly.

"What did I say to who?" she replied innocently. Edward tried to distract himself so that he wouldn't throw his phone out the window. _Is that a cop over there? Slow down, Edward._

In a controlled voice, he said, "What did you say to Bella?"

Tanya let out an amused laugh. "Oh, her? Is she gone yet? I thought she'd be a bit harder to get to, but I guess she isn't…"

"Tanya! I swear, if you don't tell me what happened at Jessica's house right now, I'll―"

"Relax… I didn't do much. Just told her something that might've happened a few years ago… Oh!" she suddenly said in surprise, as if it just occurred to her. "I think I forgot to mention that it happened a _few years_ ago…" she trailed off.

Edward couldn't think of a word bad enough to shout at Tanya. "You didn't! You… you…"

"You'll thank me for it later, Edward," she muttered. "Besides, you were too good for her anyway. I still can't understand why you dumped me for that little―"

Edward hung up, not wanting to listen to her anymore. It had been three _freaking_ years already since he and Tanya had broken up―he couldn't believe she was still trying to hang onto him.

_And we almost_

_We almost knew what love was_

_But almost is never enough_

Bella sighed as she took a seat at her gate across from a middle-aged couple. They didn't seem to notice her though, since they were busy trying to handle their kids, namely a young boy who had apparently spilled his juice over his older sister. Bella tuned them out―she was in no mood to listen.

Knowing that there was no way she'd be able to keep her mind off of Edward for another twenty minutes, she put in her earphones and hit shuffle on her iPod.

She immediately regretted it when Adele's "Someone Like You" started playing. She skipped it, hoping for a better song.

No luck.

Bella hurriedly hit skip when "Love Will Remember" by Selena Gomez started playing.

And then she yanked her earphones out when she heard the opening notes of "Almost Is Never Enough".

_Stupid iPod_, she thought as she shoved it back into her purse.

She was about to stand up and go get some coffee when her phone started vibrating in her jacket pocket. Taking it out, she looked at who was calling.

Angela.

Bella hesitated. _What if this is about what Tanya said at the party? _She shook her head. _This is Angela… she wouldn't do that…_ Making up her mind, she hit answer, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Angela―"

"Oh my god, Bella, what the hell are you doing at the freaking _airport_?!"

Bella resisted the urge to smile; Angela hated swearing. But then her eyes narrowed when she realized something wrong.

"Wait, how do you know I'm at the airport?" She froze when something else occurred to her. "Edward didn't put you up to this, did he?"

"I put myself up to this, idiot! You can't leave!" Angela all but screamed into the phone.

Bella frowned. "Well I can't stay here, either, Ange."

"Listen," Angela sighed. "You know the guy who dropped you off at the airport?"

Bella nodded before realizing Angela couldn't see her. "Yeah, I remember him."

"That's Charlotte's boyfriend."

Bella froze mid-step. "You mean Charlotte… as in your cousin? _That_ Charlotte?"

"Yeah, _that_ Charlotte. The one who's basically best friends with Tanya." Angela took a deep breath. "She called me, talking about the party this morning. She was saying that Tanya had this 'brilliant' plan to get you and Edward to break up… You fell for it, Bella."

Now Bella was thoroughly confused. "What do you mean, 'I fell for it'?"

She could practically see Angela tugging at her hair in frustration. "All of those… _things_ she described to you? It all happened years ago, back when Edward was still dating her. She knew that he'd gone to Forks to visit his parents last weekend. She just made it sound like he stopped by at her house first."

Angela paused, waiting for a reaction. She started growing impatient after just a few seconds of silence. "Bella? Are you still there?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear to check if she'd accidentally hit another button when it started beeping, signaling that Bella had already hung up.

_If I could change the world overnight_

_There'd be no such thing as goodbye_

_You'd be standing right where you were_

_And we'd get the chance we deserve_

Edward sprinted into the airport after parking, narrowly missing a taxi that was just leaving. He ignored the horn that was directed at him, slowing down to a brisk walk as he entered the terminal.

He was nervous. Bella's phone was apparently shut off, and he didn't even want to think about where she might be…

As he approached the baggage check-in area, his eyes caught sight of a lady at an open counter. She seemed like she was just about to leave.

"Hey! Wait!" He shouted as he ran up to her. She turned around, startled.

"Um… how may I help you, sir?" she asked unsurely, looking askance at his luggage-less state.

Edward didn't feel the need to explain himself to her, though he probably would've in any other situation. "Sorry, I just wanted to know when the next flight to New York is supposed to leave," he said quickly.

The lady, nodding, went back to her computer and pulled up the flight schedule. She looked thoughtfully at the chart. "Well, sir, it looks like you just missed it. The last flight to New York left about a minute ago, if even that."

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**Review? What do you think happened? I'm not exactly guaranteeing a happily ever after… ****And do you guys like the cover (story image)? It took me a while to get the font right...**

**Sonia**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer**

"**Almost Is Never Enough" is by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes and does not belong to me.**

**This is the last chapter of this story, and I want to thank all of you so much for staying with me through this. Love you guys so much.**

**Sonia**

* * *

**-:xoxo:-**

**Almost Is Never Enough**

**-:xoxo:-**

* * *

_Try to deny it as much as you want_

Edward didn't know what to think as he walked out of the airport.

Could he call Alice? No, his sister would kill him before he even explained everything. As soon as she heard that Bella was heading back to their previously shared apartment in New York, Alice would demand to know what Edward had done that would cause such a thing.

And then she'd blame Edward for all of it, not that he didn't deserve it. She's also sketch out the details of she was going to kill Tanya.

He had already decided that he was going to kill Tanya himself. He knew he probably wouldn't go that far, but she'd certainly deserve it.

But Edward was still in denial. He couldn't believe that Bella had really just… left. He couldn't believe that she, most likely, wasn't going to come back.

There was no way Alice was going to let Edward visit them, not after Bella explains her version of what happened.

Now that he thought about it, Emmett was probably going to kill him too. Bella was like a little sister to Emmett, closer to him than Edward would ever become.

Alice would help Emmett, and so would Jasper.

Edward also knew that Rosalie, with her past, would actually murder him before the other three even finished planning out _how _to.

By the time he got into his car, Edward had figured out exactly how he was going to get killed.

_But in time, our feelings will show_

Lifting his head up, Edward realized that he had been in the parking garage of his apartment complex, head on the steering wheel, for five minutes now. He decided that he should call Alice now. If she heard the news straight from Bella first… he didn't even want to think about her reaction.

Glancing at the cup holder, Edward cursed himself for forgetting his set of the apartment keys earlier. He would've been able to get in and somehow, just maybe, been able to convince her. Those few extra minutes could've meant the difference between her staying and leaving… but now he'd never know.

He knew it was irrational to glare at the keys. But he did, and he knew that he'd hate those keys for as long as he had them. Maybe he should get a new set made… or maybe just get a new apartment all together…

Reluctantly, he walked up the stairs, heading to his apartment. He honestly didn't feel like going back. Now that Bella had… _left_, the place just wouldn't feel like home anymore.

Slowly, he unlocked the door and, after closing it behind him, decided that going to sleep for an hour or so wouldn't hurt. He already had a headache from the day, and he still couldn't reach Bella. Maybe when he called Alice, he could convince her that he just _had_ to talk to Bella and explain…

As he approached his room, though, he thought he heard something. Something that sounded a lot like… a lot like _crying_.

Moving quickly, he threw open the door to his bedroom.

And stopped dead in his tracks as the one face he thought he'd never see again looked up at him.

_Almost, almost is never enough_

_We were so close to being in love_

_If I would have known that you wanted me_

_The way I wanted you, babe_

Bella hung up before Angela could finish her speech. Thoughts raced through her mind as she stared blankly at her phone.

_It was all a lie. It wasn't true. _

_I overreacted. I didn't even stop to listen to Edward._

_Oh my god._

As if a switch had been flipped inside her, she suddenly unfroze. Grabbing her bag, she started running through the airport, unable to get to the exit fast enough, while at the same time praying that she wouldn't go sprawling on the floor.

She was breathless by the time she reached the terminal exit. Pushing her way through to the part of the sidewalk that was closest to the road, she almost collapsed on the spot with relief when she saw on old couple getting out of a cab.

"Wait!" she shouted at the driver before he was able to pull away. The car stopped just as suddenly as it started. The couple were staring at her oddly as she hastily got into the backseat.

"Hello, miss… where will you be going today?" the driver asked hesitantly, glancing at her disheveled state. He opened his mouth, as if to ask her if she was okay, but then thought the better of it.

Bella quickly listed the address. It was only once they started on their way that she relaxed, resting her head against the seat.

She still couldn't believe that she had been so stupid. Believing Tanya, of all people? But Tanya had been drunk, and confident. Drunken people couldn't usually lie convincingly… or could they? Tanya, however, was evidence that proved the opposite.

And now Bella wished that she could undo everything she had said to Edward earlier that day.

_Then maybe we wouldn't be two worlds apart_

_But right here, in each other's arms_

"Have a nice day, miss," the cabbie said as Bella stepped out of the taxi.

Bella didn't even have to force herself to give a genuine smile to him. In all honestly, he deserved an award for putting up with her 'episode'. "Thank you, sir."

As her drove away, she automatically, out of habit, glanced to the east side of the parking garage.

The side where Edward always parked.

She didn't expect to not see his car there, however, and when she didn't, she expected the worst.

_Did he go off with Tanya again? Oh god, what if I completely ruined it?_

But she immediately pushed those thoughts away.

_Even if that's who he… chooses…_ Bella shuddered, fresh tears springing into her eyes. _I still need to apologize. Just one minute, that's all I'll need. Then I'll leave, and I won't come back._

_He'll never have to see me again._ _I'll make sure of it._

Now feeling a lot more relieved, though sad, at her acceptance that she'd never be with Edward again, Bella took a deep breath and started toward their―soon to be only his―apartment.

_And we almost_

_We almost knew what love was_

Surprisingly, it took Bella less than ten minutes to finish packing all her things. Maybe it was the sudden adrenaline rush she got from the revelation in the parking lot. But whatever the reason, her three bags were neatly packed in the corner of the living room, and now she just had to wait for Edward to come back from wherever he was.

Bella frowned. That could take a long time, she reasoned. Until then, she decided that she could pretend, just this one time, that she was still with Edward.

But as she took the steps leading to his room, the tears that seemed to be ever-present in her eyes came back full-force, and started streaming down her cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them away.

Her hand hesitated on the door handle, and she paused, wondering if she'd be able to cope with seeing their―his―room again. She swallowed, pushing back the tears, before making up her mind.

When she pushed the door open, she was once again stunned by the sudden emptiness of the room. All her things were packed, and she couldn't believe how depressing it looked.

_It'll probably be fine again, after he finds someone new,_ Bella reasoned, even though it broke her heart just to think of it. After all, Edward was… well, _Edward_. It wouldn't be that hard for him.

She went directly to the bed, which looked to be the only warm and comforting place there was at the moment. She wrapped herself up in the comforter, so overpowered by the sense of being surrounded by _Edward_ that she couldn't fight back the tears anymore.

She hoped he didn't mind having to wash his comforter again to get rid of her tearstains.

Bella didn't know how long she sat there, just thinking about everything. All their times together, all their memories, every little thing.

But she stiffened, suddenly, when she heard the lock being turned in the front door.

Bella didn't dare breathe as she heard the footsteps―_his_ footsteps―pace around the living room for a few seconds before approaching the bedroom.

They suddenly stopped, a little ways from the bedroom door, and the next thing she knew, the door had been thrown open against the wall and she was staring at the one face she wished she didn't have to leave.

_But almost is never enough_


End file.
